library Monkey

2008-02-28T10:32:00.001-08:00

Composting for apartments!!

COmposting is one of those practices that I would love to do (as we do have a large patio and lots of areas for gardening) but haven't found a practical way to do it, as we do live in a condo. This looks very promising - especially as it purports to not be smelly. - a factor that is very important when you are living in small places. Also, it claims to accept pet waste!

Anyway, check out the article... all I really want to know is - where can I get one???

Article courtesy C|Net blogs.

2008-02-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

It's the little things...

My plane is delayed this morning due to fog (which is funny because we are heading to San Fran - fog central) but the airport has placated my little techie heart by providing free wifi. I'm sitting here surfing, listening to music and happy as a clam... or maybe that is the beginnings of excitement in anticipation of getting my shop-on. Watch out, Claude! ;-)

Ok... I really don't have anything to say. I'm just wasting time. Hope you all have a good weekend, if I'm not back before then.

Update: I guess the fog wasn't really that amusing - turns out the fog was in San Fran, not in Vancouver, which I probably should have realized by looking out the window. As I had woken up at 3:30 that morning, I'm giving myself a bit of a break on that one. :-)

2008-02-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

Rules of collecting...???

Whenever I make the time to read Shelf Awareness, I always find something of interest that I want to share. Today it is a little tidbit about a fellow, Tim Toone, who collected a first edition of every book that J.K. Rowling published. His collection of 553 books is going up for auction next week and it is estimated that they collection may sell for as high as £40,000. I find the number rather surprising as J.K. Rowling hasn't stopped publishing... so essentially it isn't a complete collection... or would that not be taken into consideration? I guess I always assume that a person would collect an author that is a bit more established (I'm referring to length of time as an author. I'm obviously not judging this by number of books sold.) . Then again, the more I read this, the more I realize that my own assumptions are really coming into play here. Why shouldn't he collect a relatively new author - there is no rule that someone has to be dead before you start collecting their works. On the other hand, it seems like a bit more of a challenge to collect a particular author if they aren't still actively publishing books.

By my calculations, if he spent an average of £20 per book, then he has made a profit of over £28,000 - not a bad take, really. Perhaps I should start being more active in my husband's quest to collect Stephen King... ;-)

Original article

2008-02-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Messages from the interweb...

From the top search terms that have lead people to my blog over the past month, two of the search strings are:
alternative to telus" +"long distance
and
telus ld access charge

So... I'm thinking TELUS customers aren't all that happy about the new long distance charges, ya think???

2008-02-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there... hope your day is filled with love from good friends, lovers or just very friendly strangers!!

Deep Thoughts... Don't let the commercialization of the day ruin the sentiment. Today is a day to let people that mean a lot to you know that you are glad they are in your life. Yes, we should do that everyday but that doesn't always happen - so having one day that is set aside for sweet sentiments isn't such a bad thing.

Just like a Care Bear Stare, I send love and good wishes out to everyone who reads (and, what the heck, to those who don't read my blog too - what can I say, I'm feeling generous today).

and ps... my husband sends me the best valentines... ;-)

2008-02-14T09:07:00.001-08:00

The future of YouTube

A little something that I thought was interesting this morning...

YouTube had a big shindig in NYC last night and Google, along with the celebrations, shared some info on the direction they are planning to take the video website. Apparently, they are looking to program in a website feature that recommends other videos to you, based on your viewing history - think Amazon's recommendations or StumbleUpon. ALso, Stephen Chen, Chief Tech Officer at YouTube, is "really excited about content on really, really big tvs" so it looks like they will be formatting their videos to have better pixelation to be able to view them on a larger screen - or at least I would hope they would because blowing up the quality they have now wouldn't really be worth it. I would love to see the quality of the videos improve, even if just a little, although they only have so much control over this as they are only as good as that which people upload. (I should clarify - I mean the visual quality of the video. I recognize of course, that YouTube and Google have no control over the content and storyline of the videos - that's part of the beauty of YT!) Google is also planning on improvements to YouTube's video editing tools.

For more information, read the article I found all this info at C|Net News.

2008-02-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

Not much to say...

It's been a busy week. Not much exciting has gone on... well, that may not be true, but I tend to be focused on other things than blogging this week. Our resource centre at UBC went under construction (along with the rest of the hospital) at the end of last week/beginning of this week. That has kept me pretty busy trying to keep everyone aware of what is going on, rescheduling volunteers, moving computer equipment, etc. At this point, I feel good about it. I think everyone is aware and I've covered pretty much everything. Few more emails to go out today - but that is the case everyday isn't it?

One little thing that is neat (although I found out about this last week). Schmap, an interactive tourism guide, has selected one of our photos for their Boston Guide. It is a photo of the Duck Tours. I should actually credit that to Katie, as she is the one who highly recommend the tour to us (as she and her husband had lived there for a couple of years, we figured they knew what they were talking about :-). If you would like to take a look at the guides, go to www.Schmap.com.

They contacted us a couple of weeks ago to give us the choice of having them consider the photo for their guide. Once we agreed to it, although we do keep copyright of the image, they took a look at the photos they had to choose from and made their final selection. It sounds like they find all of their images through Flickr. They are certainly not the only ones to do this. We've had a number of our India photos chosen for various guides and webpages, which we generally don't mind.

Well, time to go do some more stuff around the house. General pick-up and then off to work for an hour to meet one of my volunteers. Hope you all have a good weekend - and don't spend too much time on Friday afternoon surfing and reading blogs!!

2008-02-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

The obligatory Super Tuesday post...

So, I've been trying not to obsess about this today, but, well, that's not going to happen. I noticed Google is getting in on the action and making the information easy to access via a few little tools they have cooked up. Check out the table below with all of the latest results for the states that are voting today. Ok, now off I scurry to start repeating my mantra for the Democrats to win in November... any Democrat.

Also, a good friend sent me links to a couple of interesting bits and pieces, although I doubt the first needs me to blog about it - I'm sure it is getting plenty of coverage.

Again, may say I am not for Barak or Clinton (or if I am, I'm keeping it to myself), I just want a Democrat - any Democrat - in office come November.

2008-01-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

Is it just me?

... or does this seems a bit excessive in the packaging dept? The little Voyager box was shipped inside the big brown box - which was more than twice the size of the item (not to mention the item that was inside the voyager box is just a little thing that sits in my ear).

Off to the recycling bin it all goes...

2008-01-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

Because I'm like a proud momma...

Claude and I finished building our bookcases a couple of weeks ago, and considering they took us so long to finish, I feel they deserve a post of their very own. We started making them a couple of weeks before we put the water feature (read: flood) in our bedroom, hallway, livingroom, etc. Needless to say, that put a bit of a crimp in our plans of getting them done in about 2 months. Once our lives settled down a bit, and we had some needed down time, we started working on them again in the fall. We finally got them up on the wall in December (with some strongman help from Tony!) and finished putting the last coats of wipe-on polyurethane on them at the beginning of this month.

I now give you...
drumroll, please...

Our beautiful new bookshelves!!!

2008-01-23T10:27:00.000-08:00

Even bigger?!?!

For those of you who are fans of Powell's City of Books in Portland, they are planning on adding 10,000 to 20,000 sf of space to the existing store. How exciting! Claude and I have only visited the store once, but it was one of the best bookstore trips we have ever taken - we found a couple of books on the Konkani language plus some fun Stephen King and Neil Gaiman kids books.

The story was in this morning's Shelf Awareness and gives you the lowdown on what their plans are at this point. They are 'planning in the open' meaning that they haven't finalized the plans and will let the public know as ideas unfold and plans are finalized. The timeline for the increase in size and the improvements is to have it completed by November 2010.

Yay for more books!! We'd better start building bookshelves now...

2008-01-22T15:56:00.000-08:00

Very sad...

Heath Ledger was found dead at his apartment at about 3:30 this afternoon. Apparently there was an open bottle of sleeping pills nearby. It's not known whether it was suicide or not at this time, but regardless it is very sad. He was a very talented actor who was not afraid to take chances. I respected him as an actor and an artist - which is pretty much all I know about him. It is always sad when someone dies, and harder when it is unexpected.

Anyway, this my little way of remembering him.

If you would like to read one of the many articles about his passing, you can start here.

2008-01-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

Stereo headset for Treo 650 - any thoughts, opinions?

Well, on Thursday my headset for my Treo 650 that allows me to listen to music and answer calls while I am out and about, finally died. Technically it still works, but only if I push the wire into the plug that goes into the phone - not exactly how I want my headphones to work. I bought the current headphones on June, and needless to say, am not impressed with the quality of it. This is not the first part of it to break, but the rest I could live with. This one turns it into a piece of useless garbage. :-(

Anyway, I've been looking at reviews for headsets that allow me to listen to music and also answer a phone call in the middle of a song without fumbling to pull out my phone. There aren't that many out there, and the one I have come across that looks good is the Plantronics Voyager 855. Just thought I would see if anyone has any suggestions or any experience with this headset. I've read the reviews and know that I will have to install some more software on my treo if I decide to go this route... but you never know what knowledge the hive might have that I don't.

Drop me a line if you have any thoughts!
xk

ps... in case you are interested, the piece of crap I bought before was a Seidio 2-in-1 Retractable headphones from Treonaughts (and, no, the 2 star review wasn't there when I ordered it... hindsight... 20/20... yada yada yada).

2008-01-17T22:51:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note...

Best freakin' day at work! Had a meeting with UBC Volunteer Services coordinators today and a meeting with our volunteers. I have to say - we have a really great bunch of volunteers. They are all really good, nice, intelligent people.

I love ending my work week feeling like I am doing something good that I believe in and enjoy. Warm fuzzies all around.

Tomorrow... many, many things to do - starting with a meeting with an engineer, then on to a plumber... then out to do some shopping for a special night on Saturday (gotta look purty!).

But right now I feel like I could conquer the world! (right after I finish the laundry :-) )

over and out
xk

2008-01-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

What are fundies?

Sounds like a kind of underwear, doesn't it? Well, this is one of the things that I learned today - apparently fundies is a nickname for fundamentalists. While it is kind of a silly name, it is a term used on a somewhat frightening (and sad) website. The website is FSTDT, which stands for Fundies Say The Darndest Things.

At first, reading through their Top 100, I thought it was all made up and someone's idea of a joke. Then I started looking around. The Top 100 page is a collection of comments and opinions written by fundamentalists and collected on this web. All of the comments have an accompanying link to the source, a link to comments by those who read the FSTDT website and a date. (The source information made me have an appreciation for the site - they are willing to list their source and show that they are not putting words in someone else's mouth or paraphrasing.)

Some of the comments are stupid or misinformed, but at least one is unbelievably sad. The third item from the top of the page is from a mother whose son came out to her and she, in her infinite stupidity, tried to make him straight (yes, this is a simplification - to know all the details, go here). At the bottom of the post, you find out that her son eventually killed himself. There is a link to a forum where she is asking her 'friends' if perhaps something she did (like getting rid of his therapist who understood how difficult it was to come out to his mother and told to not be gay) might have contributed to his decision to take his life. Every bloody person on the forum tells that nothing she did was wrong. That she did the right thing trying to 'make him straight' and even asks if he tried to kill himself every time she told him something he did was wrong - trivializing the influence she had when he tried to open up to his mother. In my opinion, all of those people don't deserve to have children, or to breed. All of them contributed to this young man's death - and I wish someday they realize the full weight of that. Sadly, I doubt they will.

Why am I posting this? Because knowledge of what is out there will hopefully make us all stronger - and more willing to speak out against that which we believe to be wrong.

Update: On a personal note, we are going to the wedding of two very, very good friends of ours this weekend, who also happen to be lesbians. I am so very happy to live in a country to that allows people to express their love for each other - a right, not a privilege - everyone should have.

2008-01-04T10:23:00.001-08:00

This post is terribly, terribly overdue as I asked a friend if I could post part of her email back in October! She had sent out a great informational email about TELUS instituting Long Distance access charges and her phone call with one of their reps. If anyone has any more info on this, or a different take on it, I'd love to hear about it. I have to admit, I haven't really looked into this myself at this point (I know, I know! Bad library girl!!), but plan to at some point, as one of Claude's cousins is working for a VOIP company and would like to sign us on.

Karen's email, used with her permission:
Subject: TELUS money grab...

Or at least so I think...

Just a warning to all of you!  Check your phone bill this month.  There might be a notice regarding a $2.95 monthly Long Distance Access charge per month starting next month (or maybe it's just mine, but I thought I'd forward this on...)  Basically, even if you don't dial long distance YOU WILL STILL BE CHARGED unless you block LD calls from your phone.  If you do block LD calls from your phone and then you want to reinstate LD calls, they will charge you $10 to get the service back up and running.

Utter crap I say!!!

Thankfully I use DialNSave as my 3.8cents a minute LD provider...you dial a local # to then dial a LD number so I can block LD calls but still have LD access. The customer service rep was trying to tell me "well...it's like having insurance for your car." and I responded "so if I don't have a car, I still have to pay insurance?" She didn't really have an answer for that one...I'm guessing they're getting a few phone calls about this hahaha.

Regardless, anyone know a good alternative to Telus?

2008-01-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

Fancy fingerwork

Going through my morning website routine, I noticed a post to Lifehacker for a website that allows you to practice and chart your progress at typing. This would have been a great tool when I was in the library tech program trying to speed up my typing. I'm a fast typist, but when I'm being tested I freeze up and my typing speed slows down by at least half. This website for me replicated the feeling of being tested and made me loosen and speed up when I was feeling under pressure (part of it was that you start typing gibberish - something I've never been good at).

So, for those of you that want to improve your typing, want to learn touch-typing or for those of you that want a pat on the back to confirm that you are super-speedy, check out Keybr.com

2008-01-03T09:28:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to apologize for not writing here for a couple of months, as that gets old after a while. Let's just say that I hope to make this a habit again - I've missed writing here and now that my schedule has evened out and I'm in a job where I have more time for me, I think there is a distinct possibility that blogging will enter my life again.

Unfortunately, one of the two things that has prompted me to write this morning is a bit of sad news - partiers broke into Robert Frost's home in Vermont and vandalized it. An interesting note at the end of the article in Shelf Awareness was that the publisher for An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England immediately claimed that they had no part in the event. One of the many questions that pops into my mind is "How does he know that?". When you put a book full of ideas out there, how do you know whether your book planted the seed that led to that event. You don't.

My other thought is, "Who thought of such a screwed up idea for a book?" - but that is another entry, as they say.

(I've included the article below - as mentioned, it is from Shelf Awareness.)

Notes: Frost Home Vandalized; Store Reopens After Fire

Barbarians stop by woods on a snowy evening.

Robert Frost's former home in Ripton, Vt., was ransacked last weekend when 50 or more people broke into the historic site for what police called "an underage-drinking party," according to the AP.

The vandals "broke a window to get into the two-story wood frame building--a furnished residence open in the summer--before destroying tables and chairs, pictures, windows, light fixtures, and dishes. Wicker furniture and dressers were smashed and thrown into a fireplace and burned, apparently to provide heat in the unheated building. . . . empty beer bottles and cans, plastic cups, and cellophane apparently used to hold marijuana were also found . . . vandals vomited in the living room and discharged two fire extinguishers inside the building."

Something there is that doesn't love . . .

Some say the world will end in fire . . .

So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Incidentally Craig Popelars of Algonquin, which last fall published An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England by Brock Clarke, commented, "This is not our fault."

2007-09-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

Have you seen???

First off, I have to confess that I haven't read the article yet (that will be the next order of business), but I have YOU SEEN THE NEW MACLEAN'S COVER??? Holy sh*#! That is a magazine whose editor is really trying to make a splash. I'm not sure I think it is accurate (again, haven't yet read the article) but they are certainly going to get some international press. I'd be interested to know more about what is going on over there, after this and the recent cover story on lawyers that stirred up a lot of strong opinions, it is apparent they are trying to revise their image from a safe news magazine to an edgy, exciting magazine.

Update: Link to Maclean's news release on the new cover story.

2007-09-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

Remind you of something?

Just a quickie, courtesy of a link from Bryn

2007-09-10T20:29:00.001-07:00

Dinner at Deerholme Farm

Bill Jones, the chef who runs the combo cooking class/dinners at Deerholme Farm was kind enough to schedule one of his dinners on my birthday this year - and focusing on my favorite fruit, the tomato!! (no, he had no idea of his fabulous timing - but it was still appreciated). So I suggested that Claude, my parents and I book to attend as it just seemed like the perfect thing to do... and it did not dissappoint. The food was amazing. The atmosphere, as always, was comfortable, fun, friendly and filled with delicious tastes and lots of neat and interesting things to learn.

There were 8 people there on Saturday night including Lynn, Bill's wife, Hilary and Patty Abbott of Hilary's Cheeses in Cowichan Bay (we sampled a few of their cheeses in the dishes - and they were as delicious as promised!), a couple from Vancouver and Alfonse (a sommelier, I believe).

We began with a tasting of number of different heirloom tomatoes. The varieties we sampled included the Pineapple tomato, the Black Krim, Golden Sunburst, Cherry, Brandywine and many others. The one above were the ones I wrote down because they were my favorites. It was really interesting to taste them back-to-back and realize just how tasteless so many of the tomatoes we buy in the grocery store really are. The Brandywine tasted the way I remember tomatoes tasting fresh from my Grandma's garden in Peterborough (funny enough, Bill had the same memory of tomatoes from his childhood and they also were from Peterborough).

The menu for Saturday, following the tasting of the tomatoes, began with a confit of cherry tomatoes, olives and basil with grilled sardines on rustic bread. The bread was from True Grain bakery in Cowichan Bay. The sardines were caught somewhere in the Georgia Strait and were delicious! They were the first sardines I've ever had not from a can (the closest I've come were oolichans from Liliget Feast House in Vancouver).

Next up was Heirloom tomato soup with Israeli cous-cous, pine mushrooms and Venturi-Shulze balsamic cream. There are not words for how delicious this soup was. I have to confess, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE soup. I would happily eat soup every day of the week and never get tired of it. I'm hoping to get back into the habit of making a batch of soup a week and eating it every day for lunch. This recipe will definitely be added to the rotation.

Dungeness crab, roasted garlic and plum tomato risotto with Hilary's St. Claire followed. I love risotto and the flavours of this one were lovely. On Sunday, Dad took Claude and I crabbing off a local dock. We caught four more crab, all of them Redrock crabs. Mum and Dad had extolled the virtues of the Redrock crab this summer while they were up in Desolation Sound, and I have to say I agree. I find their flavour a bit sweeter - and the price is just right! :-) I think when I make this risotto, I am going to try it with Redrock.

The main course was Smoked sablefish (black cod) in a Basque-style tomato stew. Again, this was a favourite because of the blend of flavours in the broth - they weren't overpowering but complimented all the other aspects of the dish beautifully. My mum and dad felt the fish was too salty for their tastes, which I can understand. I really enjoyed it, but considering they don't eat any salt in their diets and eat very, very little prepared food they would definitely be more sensitive to it.

The final course was goat's cheese pannacotta with fireweed honey, vanilla poached Glenora peaches and green zebra tomatoes. I was really looking forward to this course because I was interested to see how a tomato would work in a dessert. This worked wonderfully - the sweetness of the green zebra blended very well with Hilary's goat's cheese - and made the dish beautiful too! I would love to make this for a summer BBQ dinner party with friends next year.

The fun of attending one of Bill's evenings is the opportunity to watch a talented chef at work and fully enjoy the products of his efforts as well. Of course, we also get to take his recipes home with us and try them out for ourselves, so the fun and enjoyment of the evening continues on.

Check out our Flickr account for a few more photos.

2007-09-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

Back and better than ever...

Well, the time has come for me to resume this blog. For various and sundry reasons, I haven't been able to for a while, but with a job change comes a change in lifestyle... which all boils down to more blog postings. Yippee!!

And for my first post... my husband saw this on his drive to work today. I'm thinking KAL Tire on Main St. might be changing their sign this morning.

2007-05-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Not much blogging going on 'round here

Hey folks, sorry, but not much blogging going on this week. What was going to be a quiet week has turned into a super busy one... work is chock-a-block with reference and research requests (sorry, Kyenta, no lunch breaks for you), friend's birthdays, game nights for C and lastly, on Saturday the Rona door-installer-man finally comes and gives us new room and closet doors... very exciting!!! We're also trying to finish the bookshelves, clean the house, go to the gym, spend some time with the kitties (because they both seem a tad bit wingy these days) and attempting to sleep/stay sane.

So, with all of that, I'm not seeing much time for blogging.

I'm going to leave you with this fab photo from over at Healthbolt

2007-04-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Stuff 2.0

Tonight I attended an event put on by the HTCE called From Web 2.0 to Office 2.0: How the social web will impact our working lives" for the High-Tech Communicators Exchange . It was an interesting event with a lot of good information from two fellows, Troy Angrignon and Eam Jackson, who know quite a bit about Web 2.0 and how it is evolving.

I find the topic fascinating and try to stay on top of the changes and developments, both for work and for my own interest. They discussed something that I was talking to a coworker about the other day. One of the basic tenants of a company using Web 2.0 tools to build their presence on the web is about creating a relationship - and you don't enter into any relationship unless you plan to be completely honest and transparent. I know many people have written that CEOs shouldn't blog - and I have to say I don't agree with that. I think it is great for CEOs to blog because they can increase their profile, increase customers' trust and belief in the company and help them create a conversation with customers, partners and employees. Of course, the CEOs have to willing to talk open and honestly. If a client questions the company, the CEO needs to be willing to listen and discuss rather than just looking for an easy out and hoping they will go away. Ultimately - its a discussion and both sides need to be willing to participate. I really think that transparency is the key word.

HTCE is having another event sometime in May - the 28th I believe to further look into great high tech issues that affect communicators. If you are in that field, you should look them up.

Btw - if you were at the event and missed the video of Blue, I've embedded it for your viewing pleasure. :-)

2007-04-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

Voyeurism at its best

A couple of weeks ago a blogpost on ShinyShiny mentioned a new type of chicklit on the web, Holly's Inbox. Rather than being in book form, this is an inbox that you can click through and read all of a London receptionist's emails starting from her first day at a new job in a rather stuffy bank office and continue reading as new emails are added. I'm not usually one for chicklit - but the format intrigued me and now that I've read her first few weeks I'm totally hooked! What will happen with the handsome financial fellow from her office? Is her slutty friend really sleeping with all of the upper management at Holly's old workplace? And what about Trisha, the tough-as-nails receptionist, who has finally allowed herself to defrost and has become a fast friend of Holly's?

I know - it's trash. But sometimes I think its ok to read trash - it's a nice break. :-)

Update: Funniest email yet that I've read on Holly's Inbox
/snip/
You weren't there!!
Can you even imagine, you're an angry guest, your suite isn't the deluxe suite you booked, the tv doesn't work, the windows are jammed shut, the air con is up too high and you ask for the reception manager and he walks out with a set of Bunny ears on?
??
Can you imagine how hard it is to be taken seriously??????
I hate him.
/snip/

Hah! Love it!!!

2007-04-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

Friends are welcome...

My parents and I have made reservations at Deerholme Farms on the island for one of the their cooking classes for my birthday. It is a combination of cooking class and multi-course meal cooked by Bill Jones, chef extraordinaire. On September 8th (my birthday!), the menu features tomatoes. Mum and I went last year and it was lots of fun - and we got a chance to meet and chat with the Urban Peasant!

If anyone would like to join us - the more the merrier!!

The menu will be:
Tomato-rama: A celebration of the fruit of love

Confit of tomatoes, olives and basil with grilled sardines
Heirloom tomato soup with Venturi-Shulze balsamic cream
Roasted garlic and tomato risotto
Smoked sablefish (black cod) in a Spanish tomato stew
Goats cheese panna cotta with honeyed tomatoes

2007-04-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Pearl is a mean landlord!!

Super great video for Friday fun!

Thanks, Walter!! (Btw - you look really good for having been acting since the '60s!)

2007-04-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Just one more time, I promise...

I, like scores of others, have been bitten by the mighty Facebook bug. I resisted for a couple of months - reading about it in blogs and magazines and swearing there was no way I was going to sign up to yet another networking website. That was until an old high school friend of mine, Kyle Hendsbee, sent me an invite (he decided to not blog publicly anymore). I joined up in early March and have been hooked ever since. It is fun to connect up with people you know today, but the real magic of it for me is to connect with friends from 15 or 20 years ago. I moved around so much as a kid, it is so cool for me to be able to see what friends from my grade 7 and 8 years are doing now. And to find out that I had (and have) good taste in friends - they are all still really nice, friendly, funny people! (Now I'm seeing if I can find any of my friends from the years I was in the US - anyone know Star Berry or Susan Burnham or Lisa Marini from Turners Falls, MA???)

If you haven't signed up for Facebook yet (don't worry, we'll get you yet), Gemma at ShinyShiny has posted this great post on what is so gosh darned great about it.

2007-04-16T15:52:00.000-07:00

And for the little bit of geek in me...

I love this tshirt.

2007-04-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Save the date! April 23

Yup, I'm an avid Heroes watcher - as in PVR every episode, watch while it is recording and re-watch it with my husband later in the week when he is home. Personally, I think it is one of the best shows on television. In case you like it too, I just found this teaser for its return on April 23rd. <Kyenta does a little dance>

And, in case you haven't been able to keep up with the series, three episodes will be showing on April 21 on channel 16 from 8pm to 11pm PDT.

2007-04-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Vaisakhi in Vancouver

Claude and I had a chance to go to Vaisakhi again this year. If you've never been, it is a Sikh harvest festival that involves sharing your prosperity with you neighbours. Basically you go down to the Punjabi Market area in Vancouver and many homes and businesses have tables set up where they give small plates of food (curries, bhajis, sweets, etc.) to passersby for free. It is a lot of fun to see everyone dressed up in their finery and the parade that comes through has martial arts demonstrations, traditional music and lots of happy people.

It was also especially fun this year because it reminded us of our trip. In past years, I would get really frustrated at Vaisakhi because you find that there are no lines for anything. People crowd and push and try to cut in front of you for a small plate of channa curry and a puri. This year I just laughed it off because that is exactly what it is like in India - everyone crowds to get to a place, to get a ticket, to buy a meal, etc. You just have to let go of your preconceptions and go with it - and then it is kind of fun. Just don't let yourself get pushed out!

We've loaded a few photos of yesterday up on Flickr. Take a look if you are interested.

2007-04-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Fresh burritos comin' at ya!

This is a really interesting article on the Alameda-Weehawkan Burrito Tunnel, a little known delivery system for fresh, tasty burritos for New Yorkers. It is great to learn a little more about the history and innovation of America. The tunnel opened in 1933 and was originally intended to speed up mail delivery but was obsolete before the first letter was ever sent. Currently thousands of burritos as hour are travelling through the tunnel to hungry New Yorkers. The article contains some great historical and scientific information as well as some gems relating to recent events:

By the time they reach Cleveland the burritos are fully heated through and traveling uphill at about twice the speed of sound. A series of induction coils spaced through central Pennsylvania repeats the magnetic process in reverse, draining momentum from the burritos and turning it into electrical power (though Weehawken residents still recall the great blackout of 2002, when computers running the braking coils shut down and for four hours burritos traced graceful arcs into the East River, glowing like faint red sparks in the night).

I love the image of the burritos travelling through the air, into the river, making a soft fsst as they hit the water.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thanks, Claude, for the link.

2007-04-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

Kurt Vonnegut is gone

Just wanted to post a note that Kurt Vonnegut passed away last night at the age of 84. You can read all of the details in the New York Times article. I sure many of you have your own remembrances of his books and stories. I know he is one of my favorite authors and will be missed by those who knew him. One of the beautiful things about writers is that they will always live on in their works.

Thanks to Shelf Awareness for keeping me up to date!

2007-04-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Pussycat, Pussycat, where have you been?

There is a white pussycat in London who has taken to catching the bus to his favorite fish 'n chips shop. Really that is all you need from me - just go here and read the story.

Thanks to Dlisted

2007-04-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

So f*@#ing proud!

One of my best friends, Alicia, was one of two winners tonight for the Laff Riot Girls Comedy Competition. She went on stage with her usual style and aplomb and killed them! I'm so proud of her. She is an amazing woman and I'm so happy that everyone got a chance to see that.

April 26th is the finals and I highly recommend everyone come out to cheer on our Alicia and see how truly funny she is.

2007-04-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

In honour of Easter...

2007-04-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

Movie review

Claude and I went to see The Reaping tonight at UBC during a free advance showing. I expected an evening's entertainment but nothing deep or meaningful. I must admit I tend to like movies that deal with Christianity/occultism like The Seventh Sign, etc.
Anyway, to be blunt, The Reaping is terrible. Terribly acted, terribly directed. Not worth seeing at all. The only interesting part (can't even call it a highlight was seeing AnnaSophia Robb in another movie. We saw her recently in Bridge to Terabithia and really enjoyed her in that movie. She is the traditional 'Broadway baby' as my mum calls them - little boys or girls that are typically sweet looking with blue eyes and blond hair - but under the surface she seems to have a spark that is attractive.

Anyway, time for sleeps. Claude is snoring beside me so that means I've probably stayed up too late again.
night.

2007-04-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

Usually I'm not a follower of the "caption me"-type blog posts...

but this one I had to mention. Really, who doesn't love a good shot at Ann Coulter???

On a somewhat related note, it seems Fox's answer to Ann Coulter is Rachel Marsden. Those of you who live in Vancouver may remember her name. She was the local SFU swimcoach-/professor-/radiohost-stalker in the late 90s. I'm so glad the US was able to find a place for one of our Canadian crazies. May they welcome her and keep her as one of their own.

Thanks, Stephen, for the Marsden link!

2007-04-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Awwwww, so cuuuuute!

Ok, I'm not usually the type that swoons over teddy bears and buttercups, but this video is both cute and hilarious. The video is very sweet, but the background audio from the onlookers is just hilarious - everyone is SO overcome by the cuteness of it all.

And in case you are curious as to where this vision of sugary sweetness took place - our very own Vancouver Aquarium!! Yay Vancouver!

2007-03-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Save us!

For only a spare sovereign you can help save us. We are but poor animals, staring up at you with plaintive eyes. We are trapped in the Tower of Spheres in the center of the Hall of Illusions by the River. Please come soon!

So, on an unrelated topic, Claude and I went to see The Bridge to Terabithia tonight at Silvercity Riverport. We both really enjoyed it, but didn't expect the sad moment in the middle. I love movies that allow me to tap into the wonderful imagination that kids have.

Anyway, it is past midnight and I must go to bed now. Poor monkey. I hope someone frees him soon.

2007-03-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

Another candidate for rehab

Poor kermit...

I saw this a few days ago and forgot to blog it. Thanks, Stephen, for sending it to me today!

2007-03-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

Long overdue....

I've been very, very remiss. Our photos have been online for a few months now and have yet to post a little note here. I'm sure all of you who read this (all 5 of you!) :-) are feeling very left out. Anyway, enough of that. On to the link... TA DA!!!

I also have been remiss in updating my profile pic. I haven't had pink hair in almost a year now, so without further ado... presto!

Anyway, back to searching for a good candidate for our vacant Toronto position.
Yay!
not
bye

Update: Ok, well, I tried to find a photo I was happy with, that was the right size and that I have available at the moment. Nothing really fit the description, so we're going with a photo of Arthur. He's my sweet kitty that I got from the Victoria SPCA. Anyone who knows me well, knows he isn't that sweet - only with Claude and I. He had a bit of a hard life, which led to some (severely) cranky behavior, but I've had him long enough now that he trusts me completely. In fact it was only last year that he finally decided that he liked sitting on my lap for extended periods of time. Hey, it only took 7 years!!

2007-03-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Add this to your blogroll... Slow Children at Play

I've forgotten how I came across this blog, but I have read the entire archives now and am waiting for him to update. It is a really interesting blog written by a man who works at at home for disturbed or developmentally challenged boys. Stokie Jaye writes with an honesty that is compelling and challenging to read at times. The reader can tell Jaye cares a lot about the kids he works with and is honest with them about what they need to do to graduate out of the group home. It is a refreshing approach from the psycho-babble you hear in the media a lot. I'm sure he has many people who disagree with some of the tactics used at the home (as is obvious by his Hate Mail section of the website) but he is honest about why they do what they do and isn't afraid to 'tell it like it is'.

2007-03-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Your bill, sir.

I don't usually blog on stories or events that have been Boing Boinged, but I couldn't resist this one.

The University of Nebraska has sent a bill to the RIAA for all of the time the University has spent providing information on student usage of the internet and downloading music.
Love it!

Link

2007-03-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

Hey... that's me!

Ok, tiny bit of self-promotion... I was one of three members of LTAIG (the local library technician's association) profiled in this month's newsletter. It's a good newsletter - they started putting them out in June 2006. I have to say, the executive we currently have at LTAIG are a really proactive group of people. Good job, folks!

In case anybody is interested, you can read the newsletter on their website.

2007-03-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

So...

I mentioned in a previous post that one of the reasons I hadn't posted recently is that I have some things that I was trying to work out. Yeah, lots going on in my head these days.

It started with India...
We had such a great time in India. It is a country that I could see myself living in part time someday. Sure, it was hard and on days it was frustrating. I definitely wouldn't want to live there full time, mostly because of the corruption that is part and parcel of the government and the society there. Other than that, there is so much to love about it. I felt alive there. I felt connected to what is really important in our lives. In India, there is a focus on people - not on what label they are wearing. They are happy to meet you and want to help you or be a good host. They aren't afraid or so aloof that they can't say thank you when you hold a door open for them. At home, I have a lot of friends and family that I love but I feel like our society is so cushioned and spoiled that we forget or perhaps put the wrong emphasis on what is really important.
(Is this a complete picture of India? No, but it is what I am focusing on right now. There are so many sides of India to talk about but, as they say, that is a story for another day.)

So, I've made some decisions. I'm going to try to keep the perspective that I gained in India. I realized while I was there that although I am just one person, if I try to make a difference in what I do (even if it is just little things) that will make a difference in the big things.

I don't want to buy clothing that is made in sweatshops. I used to buy a lot of Gap clothing but not anymore. I've gone in, but every time I look at one of their labels that says "Made in Cambodia" I think of some of the families and women we saw over in India who make a dollar a day. I guess I never had a face to put to the reality that I knew existed. I don't want to support that industry anymore. And I don't need 10 black tops at 9.99 each. I may buy less but I'll feel better about what I buy.
I am being very careful to recycle and be as environmental as I can. We are lucky in Canada - we have unlimited access to information to be fully aware of issues such as global warming. Not everyone has that luxury. We shouldn't take it for granted - we need to take that information and use it to make the very best of this planet we have. We need to stop acting like this problem will fix itself. Being "too busy" to take the time to recycle or use energy-saving lightbulbs or other solutions just doesn't cut it anymore, for anyone.
I will appreciate the freedoms we have and do what I can to keep the freedoms we have. This would lead me back to Net Neutrality. I think this may become one of my causes. I feel very strongly about it and would like to have the time to get the word out. I'm not sure how I am going to achieve this - ideas are brewing up in the noggin... if anyone has any great ideas, feel free to leave them in comments.
I am going to try to be more accepting of differences in people because you don't know where they have been and what they have experienced. One of things I loved in India was the sense of community. I wish that is something we had more of here in Canada. There is a bit more trust of your neighbour in India. Maybe that is because your neighbour could very likely be a part of your family. :-) Never-the-less, I realized that we need to take better care of each other.
I am looking into a non-denominational charity that does work over in India with the children and families who have nothing. Both Claude and I had a hell of a time saying no to the children. There is one little girl in Delhi whose face I will probably never be able to forget. The only way I could get through that trip without giving money out was to promise myself that when we got home we would do this. I also would like to, when our children are old enough, go over to India and volunteer for a couple of months. I would like to give something to a country that I would someday like to call a home.

Does all of this sound a little militant or a bit extreme? Maybe. I'm not going to start lecturing everyone on what they should do, but I realize that by doing these things I will be more true to who I am.

Anyway, I thought I would put this down on 'paper'. Maybe it makes it more real. Maybe it will help me sort through all the feelings and thoughts I came home with. I don't know. I just know I wanted to.

2007-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

Chickens are the peacemakers of the world.

You just need to watch the video...

Thanks, Tim!

2007-03-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

Hello again!

So, some of you may have noticed that I haven't posted here for a while. I'll get into that a little bit later, but let's just say for now I've been doing a bit of thinking about priorities and what I need to fix in my life to live closer to what I believe in. Still a bit of work on that, but things are getting sorted out.

On to a tid bit that I just HAD to post...

The US Post Office has decided that a good retail strategy would be to remove all of the clocks in the public areas of the post office. Their logic is that it will allow the customer to focus on their experience. So far they have removed clocks from 37,000 postal outlets.

Right. So, you want people to get so excited mailing packages that they come back for more - for that special little high they get from the post?!? Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the US Postal Service has a bad rep and you don't want people to be aware of how long they are actually waiting in line???

Seriously. Who thought this up and how did they get people to support them?

Source: The Consumerist

2007-01-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

Fighting Brain Freeze - one ice cream cone at a time

Being a lover of ice cream, this bit of info on HealthBolt is invaluable. I've copied below, but check out their website for more fun health-related facts... and eat more ice-cream!!!

Press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. “Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too,” says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. “In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache.” The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.

2007-01-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

Little Sisters - Big Loss

Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium, a bookstore in the Davie Street area of Vancouver, have decided to abandon their 20 year legal battle against the Canadian border guards. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a sad tale of Canadian border guards censoring/stealing books and reading material entering Canada.

The Globe and Mail has an article in today's paper about the battle and obstacles Jim Deva, the owner of Little Sisters, has faced since his fight began 20 years ago when they first found delays or disappearances of stock shipped to Little Sisters. Often shipments would go missing. Other shipments that did arrive would have the boxes taped back up although it would be obvious that customs had opened up and disturbed the contents. The contents of the stock would often be sex manuals or other sex-related materials as the store carries sex items catering to its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender customers. Many of us, and I am one, would assume that perhaps the bookstore was over-reacting to a few misplaced or border-examined orders but as the excerpt below points out, there was a definite pattern to the disappearances.

Those unexplained disruptions stopped while litigation was active, Mr. Deva said, adding that he believes Customs did not want to add to the evidence before the court by intercepting shipments.

In 2000, when Little Sisters won its Supreme Court case, shipments began disappearing within two weeks of the verdict.

"It starts with shipments we can't find," Mr. Deva said, predicting that Customs will intensify its scrutiny.

Derek Mellon, spokesman for Canada Border Services Agency, said he did not wish to comment directly on a case still before the courts.

But he said the agency has a constitutional duty to prevent obscene material from entering Canada. "We remain committed to fulfilling that obligation."

I think it is really sad that they are giving up. I understand why they are and they are probably doing the right thing, both personally and professionally, but I would like to think that Canadian law courts are a place where private businesses can challenge the practices or government organizations and both will be judged impartially and fairly. Looks like I might be wrong.

Thanks to Shelf Awareness for their piece on this.

2007-01-25T14:12:00.000-08:00

Congratualtions to Drexoll Games!!

Claude just pointed out to me that they made the Jan 07 issue of Vancouver Magazine's Best of the City (check out page 3)! Yay Drexoll!

If you don't know Drexoll Games, they are a super-friendly and super-knowledgeable board games store. The owners, Tamara and Darcy, are great owners that have come to know their customers and are doing a fantastic job of being the best games store in the Lower Mainland. Claude and I have gone in many times to buy or play games there. They also have a great selection and knowledge of German board games - which Claude and I love!

2007-01-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

Today is...
Hug-a-Writer Day!! I'm going to go right home and give Claude a good squeeze because he's a writer AND... he finished his book 6 days ago. Yes, of course, he was a writer before that, but now he is a writer with a book completed and is sending it off to agents. Very exciting!!!

Anyway, if you know any writers, go out and give them a hug... if for no other reason than everyone can use a good hug.

Happy Wednesday!

ps... if your a literary agent, I know a really good author you would be interested in...

2007-01-20T22:48:00.000-08:00

Net Neutrality Event!

I am really excited to mention an event to discuss internet policy and the government, specifically the issue of net neutrality, that will be held on February 6 in Ottawa organized by the fab folks at LibrarianActivist.org. For those of you who have read my blog before, you know this is something that I have very strong feelings about. In the coming year I hope to become more active and vocal in my area in the hopes of making the issue better known.

The event details are below. Sabina from Librarian Activist, who emailed me about this event, also mentioned that they will have a video of the event up for those of us who can't attend. I will definitely be linking to it when it is available.

For any of you in the Ottawa area or who have friends in the Ottawa area, I would highly recommend dropping in. They have some excellent people on the panel and I'm sure it is going to be a facinating evening.

Any of you out there who are able to go, I would love if someone were able to blog it. Please let me know if you do!

Now I think it is time to see if we can get some more of these events organized across Canada. Anyone want to help me get something together for BC?

_________________________

Net Neutrality:
A Public Discussion on the Future of the Internet in Canada

Date and Location:
February 6, 2007 , 7 pm
Admission: Free
Ottawa Public Library Auditorium
120 Metcalfe St.

Moderated by:
Pippa Lawson: Executive Director, Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) at the University of Ottawa

Panelists:

Michael Geist: Professor of Law, Research Chair of Internet and E-Commerce Law, University of Ottawa
Ren Bucholz: Electronic Frontier Foundation Policy Coordinator, Americas
Andrew Clement: Professor, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto; Principal Investigator, Canadian Research Alliance for Community Innovation and Networking
Bill St-Arnaud: Senior Director, Advanced Networks for CANARIE, Inc.

Event:
Please join us for a an important public discussion on the future of the Internet in Canada. Network neutrality recently became a major issue in the United States when telecommunications companies issued public statements asking for the ability to charge Internet content-providers for preferential access to Internet users. That meant that big corporations, especially media conglomerates, would get to Internet users fastest while smaller ones, which would be unable to pay the “tolls”, would be left trailing. Meanwhile, Internet users could be restricted from using certain applications, and would likely have to pay more to access content of providers that weren’t part of the telecommunications company’s exclusivity deals.

Net neutrality has been an issue in Canada for at least two years, but the release in March 2006 of the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel’s Final Report renewed both corporate and public interest in the topic. In the United States, net neutrality is currently on hold as legislators debate the issue; in Canada, the federal government is considering major changes to telecommunications regulation and its commitment to network neutrality is uncertain - hence the need for public debate before more decisions are made.

We are also inviting politicians to attend this panel discussion, and we hope that with a good turnout, our policy-makers will understand what an important issue network neutrality is for Canadians, and that the separation of telecommunications companies from content providers is in the interest of all Internet users. While the Internet has largely been managed as a democratic commons there are hints that it can become a privately-controlled medium. The 2005 move by Telus to block customer access to the “Voices For Change” Telecommunications Workers Union website is but one example of a private-sector threat to network neutrality.

If you are unable to attend, please note that a video of the event will be made publicly available.

2007-01-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hat's off to Scotland!

This is an encouraging sign that the message is starting to get out to governments that we need to stop farting around and start making some changes. Global warming isn't a matter of whether we believe it or not - it is a fact and we need to start changing our habits and behavour accordingly. And governments need to stop using green iniatives as election platforms and start making some changes.

This article also reminded me of a thought I had while in India. Claude and I were in Bombay taking the ferry over to Elephanta Island to see the Buddist caves. It was Dec 24th, making it a VERY busy day to do a day trip. Bombay is a popular place for vacationing for Indians and many of those of vacation had decided that Elephanta Island was the place to be. After waiting in line for about 45 minutes, we finally made it onto the ferry for the hour-long ride to the island. On shore there were many sellers of fried gram snacks and other assorted goodies. Once we were underway, our fellow passengers opened up their snacks and started digging in. The unfortunate part was that once people finished up their yummies, they threw their garbage into the water. And it wasn't just one or two, everyone did this. The state of the water around Bombay told the tale too. It was filthy from years and years of acting as the city's trash can.

This behaviour is standard in India - it is part of the culture to litter. It is really too bad, as it is a beautiful country. If the government were able to provide a bit of education and a system for disposal of garbage and a recycling program, I think a difference could be made. Although, I don't think the differnce would happen soon - it really is an ingrained part of the culture to just throw your trash in the street, on the ground or in the water.

Anyway, while we were on the boat enjoying the ride but wishing people would appreciate the natural beauty around then and not cause any more harm to it, I had this thought:
Al Gore needs to take his movie "An Inconvenient Truth", translate it to Hindi, add a few musical numbers (a la Bollywood) and distribute it all over India, providing free tickets to everyone.

So, my hat's off to the Scottish government!! I wish more countries around the world would follow suit.

2006-12-31T20:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from Varkala, India!!

Just thought I would do a quick post to say happy new year to everyone. We've been pretty busy travelling from place to place, so no posts. Probably this will be the only one until we get back -- and look forward to lots of pictures then! We've moved on to memory card #2 and may need a #3. We'll see...

For anyone who is curious about the where and what of Varkala, take a look here - http://www.varkalaonline.com/.

Hope you all had a good one! Happy 2007!!

2006-12-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

Guest blog posting by my husband...

This Is Sparta!

Claude here. Some friends and I were watching the new theatrical trailer for 300, and we were remarking on what a cool line Leonidas has: "This is Sparta!" (and Gerard Butler's delivery just nails it!)

You can substitute pretty much anything in there and make it sound cool:

OK, almost anything:

Tell it like it is, Leonidas!

2006-12-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

Coke - doesn't really need the cocaine...

If you're drinking a Coke, about to drink a Coke or thinking about drinking a Coke (I bet you are now!), then you've gotta read this. Wow.

Courtesy of my husband and HealthBolt.net

2006-12-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

Ok, so we're not gone yet, but in 1 week and 4 days we're on our way to India. Yay!! We've been really busy getting things together, cleaning the renovation tools from our place so our housesitters will be comfortable, taking care of vaccinations, etc. It's so close... Wheeee!

On the home front, we have joined the masses of Mac users - and I have to say I'm glad to be back. I used to use a Mac in the early 90's but when I moved out of my parent's place I said good-bye to the Mac. :-( I've spent the last couple of days getting re-aquainted and now my husband calls me a Machead. lol

Anyway, just wanted to say hi. I'll be back briefly before we head out, but just wanted to let you know that there won't be many posts during the xmas holidays.

2006-11-28T23:11:00.000-08:00

Give a little; get a little

Just watching the news and noticed there a movement to help some of the people in our community who are not able to handle the cold temperatures. Not just homeless people, but those who don't have the money for heating, seniors and others who don't have the same resources some of us do. One of the websites profiled is ChangeEverything.ca.

Claude and I have been posting a few things on Craigslist recently - one of the items I was going to post this week is a long, very warm coat that I have, but haven't used for a while. I think I will be donating it tomorrow, along with whatever else I can find that I don't have a use for and it warm.

Anyone else out there who has an extra coat, hat, pair of mitts, blanket etc - give it up to someone who really needs it!

'Night all - stay warm.

2006-11-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Neighbourhood excitement

Yesterday we were working around the house, trying to clean up before our big trip, when we got a visit from the neighbour right beside us. He is a nice fellow who we don't see all that often. He started to tell us that he has had a visitor for the past couple of days that has been living on his patio. The neighbourhood skunk has come to stay!

Anyway, our patios are sunken in below ground level on the ground floor in the back, so we figure the skunk went exploring, fell onto his patio and doesn't have the climbing skill to climb up the 3' concrete block wall to freedom. We also think he may have hurt himself in getting to the patio because he doesn't seem to be scrounging to get out even though he hasn't had any food or shelter in days. This morning he was shivering too. None of us who are involved want to exterminate the little fellow, so in light of the recent weather developments, we have given him a box to sleep in until he is healthy enough to make his way out. We've also provided some food to try to lure him up the ramps we have made to ease his escape.

Below is a photo of him from yesterday on the mat in front of our neighbours patio window. Cute little fellow. Our neighbour has been joking about keeping the critter as a security system!!

Update: On the Sunday night, the skunk made his way over to our deck but couldn't find the ramp up out of our patio due to the amount of snow that had fallen. Looking at the little skunk paw prints all over our deck, he checked everywhere and then went back to the deck he knew at the neighbours. Unfortunately, by that time our neighbour had removed the ramp down to his patio and turned the box they had made as a shelter for the fella unsidedown because he thought the skunk was gone. When the skunk came back, he fell into the neighbour's patio and ripped up the box trying to get into it. Anyway, the good part is that Animal Rescue was able to come the next day and get the little guy. They carted him away, warmed him up, fed him and fixed up any injuries. Skunkie should be living back in the wild - probably a lot better than South Granville - by now. A good end to a rather trying time for a little fellow.

2006-11-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!... oh, wait... ???

Ok, so snow makes me feel all Christmas-y - esp. as we don't get much snow in Vancouver. It started snowing yesterday around 3 or so and hasn't stopped yet. It is that lovely, wet, fluffy snow - heavy but pretty.

Vancouver gets on average one snowfall a year (which doesn't stay very long), so when we do get snow people tend to make the most of it - or at least have a little fun with it! This is from the parking lot at Oakridge Mall - a little snow art.

2006-11-20T16:39:00.000-08:00

The Great Mac 'n Cheese Search 2007 (in Vancouver)

Two good friends of mine are cheese-crazy - they both love cheese. I mean, REALLY love cheese. And they have great taste in cheese - he is the only person I know who has a raclette!! In their pursuit of great-tasting cheese, they have decided to begin a search for the best macaroni and cheese to be had in Vancouver. As they know, I love to find information - and am a fellow cheese lover - so they enlisted my help to figure out where they should start.

Below is the list I have come up with so far, although I'm sure I've missed a few. So I'm hoping people who read this post might comment on any other restaurants they know that also serve up a fine mac 'n cheese!! Also, I'd love hear about best experiences with mac and cheese and any great recipes - just 'cause I love to collect recipes.

Cru
Zin
Café S'il Vous Plait
Bistro 1734
Doll and Penny's Café
The Ocean Club
Johnny Fox's Irish Snug
Yaletown Brewing Company
Van Dusen Festival of Lights (Shaunessey Restaurant)
Romano's Macaroni Grill
Feenie's
Burgoo
Diner
Travelling Gourmet (a personal chef, in case they wanted to stay in for the night)
Salty Tongue Urban Deli
and for another night they may want to stay at home...
Les Amis du Fromage

In my search, I found some amazing recipes - esp. one on eGullet that included foie gras, white truffles, madiera sauce and un-holy amounts of cheese. I have also quickly learned that searching for info like this on your lunch break, while eating your tuna pasta salad, is not terribly fair to your tuna pasta salad. It makes anything you are eating for lunch taste like cardboard.

2006-11-17T17:03:00.000-08:00

Update on Restaurant wiki

So, after an email conversation with Mark Hurst of AddYourOwn.com, he invited me to be the resident- volunteer-cleaner-upper-and-spamfighter. Kind of a fun little thing to do in my off-hours and a good way to continue getting more experience online, etc. Besides, what foodie doesn't love to have the power to blast away all those spammers clogging up a perfectly good restaurant wiki!!

So, once again, go check out AddYourOwn.com and... add your own!

Previous related post

2006-11-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

Don't drink the water

If you're from BC, I'm sure you're already aware Vancouver, Burnaby and the North shore all still have a boil-water advisory on. It is expected to go on for a couple more days. Yay!

http://www.vch.ca/public/update.htm

2006-11-15T13:24:00.000-08:00

Restaurant wiki

On BoingBoing today, there is a link to Uncle Mark's Gift Guide and Almanac - a very cool gift guide for the season (btw - I love the blender in his guide. My blender can't do much except for soups and other very soft items - this looks to be the perfect thing!). While poking around his site, I found a restaurant and city guide wiki that he created entitled AddYourOwn.com.

It is a great little tool that allows you to add restaurants for major US cities, and one Canadian city - Vancouver! Some good suggestions of where to go and fun to add your favorites. Also nice because you can edit existing entries (e.g. I added the info that Tamarind is now closed).

Anyway, check it out when you have a moment and add your favorite restaurant!!

2006-11-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

More on Net Neutrality...

Sabina over at Librarian Activist has written a wonderfully informative post on Net Neutrality in Canada - lots of links, lots of great info! Head over and check it out.

Also, she has pointed out the website Neutrality.ca a website that provides lots of good information on the issue in Canada. Both of these are great jumping off points for informing yourselves and others about this issue. Also, please sign the petition and check out Kevin McArthur's suggestions for other ways of getting information out there. I'll copy and paste them below so you can't miss 'em!

Btw - check out our fancy, schmancy new badge of honour on the left sidebar promoting Net Neutrality!! Simple but clear (of course, if any of my animator/fx/talented artist friends feel like making a fancier one - please do!! The more attention we can bring to this, the better!)

What can you do? (From Neutrality.ca)

Write, call and email your member of parliament. We have local representation for a reason; use it.
Write, call and email the CRTC. Explain to them why a neutral network is important to Canada.
Call your ISP, explain to them that you support network neutrality and ask for them justify their violations of network neutraliy.
If possible, switch ISPs to a neutral provider. We are currently looking for neutral network partners to recommend in areas that are open to competition.
Sign the petition at the bottom of this page. Include your name, email, city and optionally a phone number.
Get involved. Tell as many people as you know about network neutrality, explaining this concept to people who are non-technical but use the internet on a regular basis. Have them contact their representation. We are currently looking for someone to create a video explanation of net neutrality that does so without inflamatory language. If you can help contact us.
Protest. Find like-minded indivuals and protest MP's offices that refuse to address the issue of network neutrality. The more visible the fight, the more likely that consumer rights will prevail over telecommuncations company's interests.
Last but not least, blog this page. The more people the better. Please link to http://www.neutrality.ca

2006-11-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

Net Neutrality comes to Canada...

Yesterday, CP wrote a couple of articles on the beginning of the struggle for net neutrality in Canada. I immediately thought that I would blog it. Due to work and life in general that didn't happen - although I must admit I thought it would be interesting to see if the media would pick it up in today's papers.

After a search in one of Canada's best media databases, it looks like there definitely was some pick-up, although I would have been happier with more. The story ran in 11 newspapers - but that is across all of Canada. Really, I would have hoped that it would get more play than that! This is an issue that threatens to stifle the democracy of the internet - allowing everyone equal access to all resources.

To me, this issue is akin to have sponsors for a library. Only the resources that are written or published by those sponsors are part of the library catalogue and have signage - everything else isn't. Users can easily access that which is sponsored, all other materials are still available - but good luck in ever finding them as there would be no information on where to find them! What do you think the likelihood is of users struggling through library stacks with no information on how to find the books they want? This is what TELUS and Bell want to do - be able to allow easy access to the websites that they have agreements with, and to hell with the rest of the web!

I think I am going to contact Pippa Lawson of Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Law Clinic to see if there is any way I can help get the word out. If any of you feel the way I do (and if you don't, email me - I'd be happy to discuss this with you until I change your mind), please get the word out!!!

Access to information is SO integral to a free and intelligent society!

Reading material:
http://news.google.ca/news?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-38,GGLG:en&q=net+neutrality&scoring=d

2006-11-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Income Trust announcement

For anyone who hasn't read the newspapers today, the Tory government announced yesterday their new "tax fairness" plan. Interesting the way they are positioning this - because fairness is not what comes to mind.

Basically, their plan boils down to tax charged on the distributions from income trusts, that will be fazed in over the next 4 years. At the end of that four years, corporate income tax will go down by 1%. Hmmmm. Yeah, so less income trusts for us to invest in - and less money from the ones we do invest in - and then the companies get a tax break. Yeah, fairness is definitely the first word coming to mind...

Interesting that the two companies that Flaherty focused on in his speech were TELUS and BCE - who had both announced that they would become income trusts shortly. Great way to start a media catfight between two companies who are already at war. Now they can argue which one of them instigated this action by the government.

Anyway, if any of you have a large amount of money invested in income trusts, you may want to re-focus your investment strategy. Although, I wouldn't suggest selling anything today... :-)

Update: This is a really interesting article from the Toronto Star about how these changes will affect people across the board.

2006-10-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Portobello West

So, just received an email on this London-style fashion market that occurs once a month in Vancouver. Looks very cool - and I do love to support our local designers! In case you weren't aware (as in, you don't live in Vancouver) we have some great local designers here. Narcissist, Twice Shy, Nanna

I think I'll call a good friend, Lishy, and see if she is interested in going this weekend. It's been too long since we've gone out and done something together. And she is way more knowledgable about local fashion than I am - she's also the manager of a local yoga company/store, so she is always looking for great, new designers and products.

I'll keep you updated and let you know what I think of it.

2006-10-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Pussy cat update - no, I'm not a crazy-cat-lady!!

In case anyone has been wondering, my sweet kitty Arthur has officially started purring again. Which means he is starting to feel safe and secure again - which makes me very happy.

We're still working on Rascal - he is meowing a lot because he misses his brother. Lots of snuggles and playtime needed.

I'm sure I'll post more today, but haven't thought of what yet. This is just a quick morning hello...

Hello!

Now, time for some breakfast...

kyenta

2006-10-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts

So, this is going to be a bit of a connect-the-dots entry (as in, ramblings).

I'm walking home from the bus stop, when I spy a fellow walking and reading at the same time (I always notice this because I spent a good part of my childhood doing that, and probably still would if I weren't such a terrible clutz). As he gets closer, I realize it is a fellow who works with my husband and he is reading a book my husband leant him (Hey, Che, hurry up with that book! That one was next on my list of books to read. ;-) So, as he is approaching, I'm trying to think of something funny to say, to say hi and get a chance to thank him in person for the sympathy card that he and his girlfriend gave us - and I think of something. Just before he passes me, I say, "Hey, hasn't anyone told you that it is dangerous to do that?". This elicits a hearty laugh from both of us... as he continues walking without breaking step. Oh well, maybe I'll get to chat with him next time. Must be a good book! Probably just as well, I've never been much of a master of conversation - why else do you think I work in a library? :-P

The book he was reading, Monster Island, reminded me that I wanted to mention the fabulous book I am reading. I am close to finishing The Professor, the banker and the Suicide King : inside the richest poker game of all time. It is a very well written book, for both those who are familiar with the game and those who are still learning about it. I am like the thousands of other people out there who read about poker now that it has reached popularity. This is the second book about poker that I have read (that isn't a poker how-to book). The first was Positively Fifth Street. Anyway, this book is about Andy Beal, a Texas banker who takes up poker as a hobby, but has the luxury of being to play using really large blinds. He also has the type of personality that doesn't just take something up as a casual hobby - he learns about it and learns to perfect his skill at it. Only at that point will he move on. He uses his ability to bet the big money as one of his strategies, hoping to take the pros out of their comfort zone by trying to play $50,000 and $100,000 blinds. The book also provides an introduction to a number of poker 'stars' and personalities, along with some history of the game. Great read - I highly recommend it.

Ok, on to the next (and last) topic. Seeing Che walking home also reminded me that I meant to post something related to my post on Friday night. Specifically, Claude and I were talking on Friday and decided on a Google Maps hack that we would love to put together*... we think it would be of great use to the prospective home owners of Vancouver to combine a the weekly Crime Maps from the Vancouver Police Dept. and the MLS listings of properties for sale onto an interactive Google Map. Probably wouldn't be much liked by Tourism Vancouver or local realtors, but... oh well. While we were talking about this, Claude mentioned that Che had just completed his own Google Maps hack - which I think is very cool - and very appropriate for the time of year. So I hereby command everyone to go look at Che's oh-so-cool hack... www.chemcnabb.com. Yay, Che!

Hey, if anyone knows of any other cool Vancouver Google Maps hacks, please let me know about them - I love this kind of stuff.

Anyway, this is the end of my ramblings. Time to go watch some Friends and have some dinner.

* The likelyhood of Claude and I actually managing to work on a Google Maps hack right now is pretty slim what with every other project we are trying to finish. Oh well, someday, right? :-)

2006-10-23T15:14:00.000-07:00

Another reason I'm glad I don't live in America anymore...

How does anyone listen to this fellow and think his opinion is worth broadcasting?

I have always hated Limbaugh, vehemently, but this is over the top even for him. Unbelievable.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/10/23/limbaugh-accuses-fox-of-e_n_32326.html

2006-10-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Is it a handbag? Is it a monster?...

Anyone who knows me - and my obsession with bags - will understand my love for this webpage.

This is a great comparison - and very true. Have you ever noticed that a number of purses (esp. the really trendy ones) really do resemble scary monsters? Here is a list that does just that.

My favourite is Gizmo - I think that is the only one I could ever bring myself to use. Other than the issue with the fur. I just can't bring myself to use a fur purse - other than the obvious humanitarian issue (and not wanting to feel the wrath of PETA) - I would just feel like I was swinging one of my cats over my shoulder. ;-)

Anyway, happy Monday and enjoy.

Link: Radar Online courtesy of Boing Boing.

Update: I managed to come up with one of my own...

Granted, he's not a scary monster - but I don't want him hanging off my arm either.
Anyone else wanna play...?

2006-10-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Location, Location, Location,

Well, now I know what to research next time I buy a home. Browsing through the web and found this Crime Heat map for Vancouver provided by the Vancouver Police. This one is for residential B&Es for the past week. And, yep, we're in one of the hotspots! Yay.

Source: http://vancouver.ca/police/CrimeMaps/index.htm

So... yeah. Anyway, good info to know. And good info to publicize more - wish I had known this 2 years ago.

Well, night folks. I'm off to watch a movie borrowed from a friend and continue with our drape making. Nothing like MI3 and a little chocolate ultrasuede on a Friday night. :-)

2006-10-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Where there's a will, there's a way...

This is pretty amazing! Really, it just goes to show that people can do anything if they put their mind to it.

To give you a taste...

Source: http://aistigave.hit.bg/Logistics/

Thanks to Martin and Random Crap Online for the link!

2006-10-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

a new post

So, you may have noticed I haven't posted in a while. Mostly this is because I have been trying to figure out how to post about everything that has happened to us in the last week and a half.

The last info I posted on Tiger's progress was that he was diagnosed with an aggresive, malignant tumour in his nasal cavities. He stopped eating the night I made that post - mostly, we believe, because he couldn't smell his food anymore (for those who don't know, cat's won't eat if they can't smell their food - which is why cat food is so fragrant). We called the vet on Saturday and he recommended we have a feeding tube inserted. We did that (after much discussion) and for a week we had him at home and fed him six times a day through the tube. After a week, he started showing signs of being in pain and still refused to eat.

On Saturday October 7th, we made the incredibly painful decision to put Tiger to sleep. As much we didn't want to lose him, we had to admit that his quality of life was terrible and we loved him too much to put him through any more. On Sunday, we did one of the most painful things we've ever done and brought Tiger in and said good-bye to him. Bill Ignacio, the veterinarian who helped us through this stage of it, was amazing. He was very supportive and patient with us. We were very emotional and he allowed us all the time we needed with Tiger, both before and after.

So, we've been coping through losing a member of our family.

On the following Friday night, we had arranged to go out for dinner with a couple who just moved to the city from the UK. We were introduced through a rather tenuous connection that involves my mum, one of her close friends and the fellow's mum. Anyway, back to events... this was the first time we had been out with friends for a number of weeks due to the health of our cats, renovations and work schedules. We came home from a wonderful dinner to find our apartment had been robbed. All the lights were on, a window had been smashed and the balcony door was open. We quickly assessed that our two cats were still in the apartment (thank goodness). Of course, we realized this because they were fighting each other to the death. We had to quickly seperate them, as Rascal's face was all scratched up. We also discovered later that Arthur's left paw has been hurt - he has been limping for the last 6 days and we will probably have to take him into the vet to find out what is wrong. [Update: it's not getting any better so he is going in tomorrow.]

I don't want to go into all the details of the robbery here, but suffice it to say that we lost enough for it to be painful. Most items we can replace, but I lost a lot of family jewellery that I will never be able to replace and I'm just sick about losing. I don't have a lot of connections to my family (esp. the older generations of my father's side, as I never really got to know my grandparents) and those items felt like they provided a connection. Also, they took Claude's birthday present to me this year - damn them to hell. They also took our security and trust and some of my love for this city.

I could go on here about what kind of people do this, etc, etc. but really I am just really tired. It hasn't been a great year and I don't feel prepared to deal with anything right now. I would really like to go to bed and stay there - for days. Unfortunately, can't do that. Meeting the insurance man tomorrow morning; taking Arthur into the vet tomorrow; trying to finish our renos and just generally move on.

Anyway, that is my update. I'm sure I'll sound much more positive in future posts.
bye

Update: I just want to add a note of thanks to all of our close friends who have rallied around us. All of you are amazing - we are so lucky to have friends who are so caring. Events like this really make you put things in perspective and realize what is important in life.

2006-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

design tool or really cool toy???

I know this is an amazing tool for design - the fact that it takes into consideration the weight of the marbles when they are in the cup just blows my mind! - but just think how much fun this thing would be at home to just play with? Hours and hours of entertainment!! Better than tv! (although I'm still not ready to give up Grey's Anatomy).

Note - in case you are interested this is a new whiteboard design tool created by MIT. You can search it on any web search engine using the phrase MIT sketching.

2006-10-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Warnings

Ok, so this may have already made the rounds of the intertubes, but I have never seen it, so in my world neither have you (yes, you - you know who you are... :-)

Anyway, these are amusing and gave me a laugh on a night when I am still at work at 6:30. bah
(which by the way I'm not really complaining about. last night I emailed a friend who works at EA at 10:30pm - and he emailed me back!)

On a Sears hairdryer -- Do not use while sleeping.
(Darn, and that's the only time I have to work on my hair.)

On a bag of Fritos -- "You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside."
(The shoplifter special?)

On a bar of Dial soap -- "Directions: Use like regular soap."
(And that would be how?)

On some Swanson frozen dinners -- "Serving suggestion: Defrost."
(But, it's just a suggestion.)

On Tesco's Tiramisu dessert (printed on bottom) -- "Do not turn upside down."
(Well...duh, a bit late, huh?)

On Marks &Spencer Bread Pudding -- "Product will be hot after heating."
(...And you thought?)

On packaging for a Rowenta Iron -- "Do not iron clothes on body."
(But wouldn't this save me more time?)

On Boot's Children Cough Medicine -- "Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication."
(We could do a lot to reduce the rate of construction accidents if we could just get those 5-year-olds with head-colds off those forklifts.)

On Nytol Sleep Aid -- "Warning: May cause drowsiness."
(And..I'm taking this because?)

On most brands of Christmas lights -- "For indoor or outdoor use only."
(Uhm...as opposed to...what?)

On a Japanese food processor -- "Not to be used for the other use."
(Now, somebody out there, help me on this. I'm a bit curious.)

On Sainsbury's peanuts -- "Warning: contains nuts."
(Wow, talk about a news flash.)

On an American Airlines packet of nuts -- "Instructions: Open packet, eat nuts."
(Step 3: maybe, uh...fly Delta?)

On a child's Superman costume -- "Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly."
(I don't blame the company. I blame the parents for this one.)

On a Swedish chainsaw -- "Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands or genitals."
(OMG...was there a lot of this happening somewhere?)

2006-10-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

FREE HUGS!

I just love this video. I wish this was in my city, too. People need more hugs. The reticence from most people to not hug just convinces me that there is not enough warmth in our culture - especially in the bigger cities. I really noticed this after moving to Vancouver. People in bigger cities operate in their own little pods and put a distance between themselves and strangers. Rarely do people smile at each other in the street or say hello as they pass by. I have to say, I will be happy to move to a smaller community at some point - I miss those things.

Anyway, enjoy! Hope this brings you warm fuzzies too...

2006-10-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Quick, quick post...

I love how people can be offended by the stupidest things - and then make that which would normally not draw attention, draw a lot of attention. Such dumb-butts! ;-)

Courtesy of the people of Orange City, Iowa...

Source: http://www.tmz.com/2006/10/02/now-in-theaters-jack/

2006-10-02T10:36:00.001-07:00

Get your library t-shirts while you still can!!

Librarian Gear is closing its (virtual) doors and has posted that they are selling off the rest of their stock until it is gone. Too bad! This was a great project that started as a student fundraiser a couple of years ago and quickly became very popular - library tshirts are much more popular than most people realized!! Maybe its because we are such a casual bunch. :-)

Anyway, if you feel the need for an Info*Bitch tshirt - get 'em while the getting is good!

2006-09-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

Names

I've also realized that I have named my husband in the past post. That happened by accident, but I'm going with it. I think I have realized that I'm not going to put any info on here that is embarrassing or too personal. I've made my peace with putting some personal info on the web about me.

One of the other reasons I've been very careful about putting my name up here is because I have a very unique first name - when I put it up here, anyone who knows me will immediately know it is me. No hiding behind a common name like Mary or Rachel. :-)

Anyway, I think I'll go in and change my profile now. Good night all.
kyenta

2006-09-29T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sad kitty

So, haven't written here is a while. Things have finally slowed down at work, we are almost finished the renovations at home and we are starting to allow ourselves some time to do fun stuff. Unfortunately, at the beginning of August we started having health problems with our kitties. Tiger was diagnosed with hyperthyroid. Then within weeks he started sneezing. We went out of town for a few days and when we came back, mucus was streaming out of his right nostril and right eye. We have been to the vet many, many times and they kept doing tests and prescribing meds, all to no avail.

This week we finally were able to get Tiger into a specialist, Dr. Mircovic from Canada West Veterinary Specialists. She is a lovely woman who unfortunately had some very bad news to give us. After a CT scan, she found a tumour in Tiger's nose. Apparently it started in the right nostril and ate through the cartilage to the left nostril. Also, it has eaten through to the soft palate at the top of his mouth. She told us it was far too large to remove. She biopsied it from the back and front. Today we got the results from the biopsy. Unfotunately, it is a carcinoma which is the worst option. This means it is cancer (the other options were a fungal infection or lymphoma). Carcinoma is the least responsive of the possible causes of the tumour.

Tiger is still bleeding a bit from the biopsies from his right nostril. He still sounds like he is snoring, because of the breathing difficulties from the tumour. He is slow to react for parts of the day. He is obviously is pain and is not a happy kitty. We both feel terrible and wish to make the rest of his life as easy as possible.

This weekend we need to decide which course of action we are going to take. I think it is likely we will try piroxicam - an anti-inflammatory drug that apparently can also sometimes shrink tumours. We also have the option of chemotherapy for him, but we wouldn't be able to get him in until Friday. Both Claude and I want to act as quickly as possible because he is obviously suffering. We'll call our family vet tomorrow and make a decision then.

It has been a hard week. Lots of tears and lots of sadness. Lots of evenings just spending time with the cats. I think it is harder for Claude than it is for me. Tiger was originally his cat. He has had him for 12 or 13 years (Tiger is currently 14). Also, Tiger, with his brother Rascal, are Claude's first pets. He has been a wonderful dad to them and they adore him. You can tell by their demenour what a great parent and guardian he has been - they are two of the sweetest, most trusting kitties you'll ever meet. Having a pet die is an unbelievably difficult thing to go through. It is that much harder when it is the first time. Also, I believe it is harder still when you are an adult. When you are a kid, your parents are making the decisions as to what is the best course of action. Claude is going through this for the first time, is the primary decision-maker in this situation and is feeling the pressure of being responsible for Tiger's quality of life.

I wish I could take this away from him. I am trying very hard to be strong so he can lean on me - usually it seems to be the other way around. I want him to feel that he is supported and not that he must be strong so he can support me.

This isn't to say that this isn't hard for me too. Tiger is one of the sweetest cats I have ever owned and he is far too young to be as sick as he is. Of our three, he has always been the most kittenish. He has these funny little habits that are so endearing. When we would get the wet food ready for their evening meal, every single night he would run around in circles until we were ready to put the food down. Not in little circles in the kitchen. He would run out of the kitchen, into the dining room, through the living room, down the main hallway, turn right into the entranceway/hallway and right again, into the kitchen. He would do three or four laps every night, pausing briefly in the kitchen to see if the food was ready yet. If it wasn't, he would do another lap. He could always get us laughing with his antics. Now, he will sporadically eat and prefers to lay on our laps and try to sleep/breathe.

It is a very sad time.

2006-06-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

Things that make me what to homestead up in the BC bush...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/02/grandparents.hit.ap/index.html

Seriously, though... the few posts I've read that have linked to this story seem to be focussing on the fact that they also wanted to kill the family dog. While I agree that is wholy unnecessary, I just can't get hung up on that. This is a guy who molests his kids, then tries to get his entire family killed WITH HIS PARENTS HELP!!! How sick is that?

I really don't believe in the death penalty, but maybe killing all possibilities of his ever having children again would be a good idea. Really, if there was ever someone we didn't want to be able to continue the bloodline, this would be it. It just boggles my mind.

I also find it a little sad that people focus on the dog. Part of me wonders if we have become so immune to such horrible events as this, that we ignore the horrific nature of the rest of the crime and just focus on something smaller, a little easier to digest. I'm not sure I'm discribing this well...

Probably not, though. To give people the benefit of the doubt, it is more likely that because the whole thing is so horrific, people want to focus on the dog to not have to deal with the rest of it.

Anyway, this is my Friday rambling...

ps... I doubt anyone actually reads this, but if you do... our home renovations are almost done which means I will actually start writing this again. Yay!! I'm looking forward to it, even if no one else is. :-)

2006-03-29T12:06:00.000-08:00

Pink!

On Saturday I get my hair re-dyed to the bright, spring-like pink that I love! I'm very excited! Last time it was dyed was in late January, and it really starting to fade. I've loved the way it is fading and changing - at one point it was this beautiful, delicate pink - but now it is time to go bright and eye-catching again.

I always get people asking me if I dye it myself - if only they knew how incredibly inept I am at anything to do with hair. :-) The only reason my hair ever looks good is because I go to the absolutely BEST stylist in the world. If you are ever in Vancouver, BC and need a cut or color, go to Dean at The Lounge (downtown Vancouver location). He is absolutely amazing! and a real cutie too!

Update: In re-reading this, I realize how much like an advert this comes across. I'm not trying to sell anything - go to whoever you want to to have your haircut, colored, etc. Really. Doesn't matter to me a bit - as long as you have good hair, that's all I care about. :->

2006-03-28T18:19:00.000-08:00

Celebrity MySpace pages

Ok, so my job entails a lot of research and poking around on the net. So, today while poking around in my offtime, I happen to run across a minor celebrity MySpace page - no big deal. We know most of them have one, right? Well, poking around some more, I find one I find MUCH more interesting. Keep in mind, I'm not a fan, but I think finding Lindsay Lohan's MySpace page is kinda cool. Check it out - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=59780377

Anyway, this was my neat thing for today. :->

2006-03-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Well, my friends have been busy sending me a few funny links, so I thought I would pass them along.

Have you counted your cows today?

and my personal favorite...

Natalie Portman is a bi-otch! (Okay, well, she isn't really... she is quite smart and funny, but that wouldn't be nearly as funny an intro, right?)

The link above is for the same video below. I thought I would try out both this time and see how it goes. Anyway, enjoy the video. Gotta say, YouTube is one of my favorite sites right now!

that's all for now!

2006-03-09T16:07:00.000-08:00

Just cause it is Thursday afternoon and I'm a gadget addict… Can you spot the Maharaj?(Darren, that is)

I imagine he is rather proud of himself that he scored a spot modelling the new Microsoft Ultra-mobile PC (am I the only one who finds it weird that they aren't calling it the Origami?).

Anyway, must be productive now...

2006-03-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Just poking around the net and reading one of my new favorite blogs ShinyShiny.tv. It's a girl's gadget blog - fun to dream in the middle of a reference question that is stumping you. :-)

Anyway, while I was poking around, I came across this product that NEC is developing. It is called Kotohona and is supposed to communicate your emotions from the tone of your voice using changing colors. The actual item is a flower that would sit on your desk and I imagine as your partner's emotions change, so would the color of your flowers.

While this seems like a neat-o idea, I'm not so sure that I want to know how my husband is feeling every moment of the day. Actually, I'm not so sure HE would want me to know how he is feeling every moment of the day. The next step would be me calling him every time the flowers show he is unhappy or mad, asking "What's wrong???". Oh yeah, he'd LOVE that! :-) A little bit of space is healthy in a marriage.

Hmmm, maybe someone should tell NEC that.

2006-03-08T12:27:00.000-08:00

Yup, it's been a long time. I'm contemplating creating my own website, which would incorporate a blog. Right now I am just waiting for our computers at home to be well again. They have been very, very sick for quite a while. CM is building a media computer and installing MythTV on it, but has run into a wall with that. Namely, the home theatre system I bought him 1.5 years ago (birthday) doesn't have all the connections he needs. He is trying to sell it, but doesn't want to give it away - although I think he will end up selling it for some ridiculous price, because right now it is just taking up space. Our main computer has been sick for almost a year. We have finally figured out the problem - memory. So we have replaced the part and looks like it is almost back to new. Yeah!

Anyway, this site was emailed to me - https://home.comcast.net/~josh.hosler/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

Instead of just doing my b-day, I decided to look at all the important dates in my life to see if I could find a pattern. No pattern, but kinda amusing... yes?

Conception (approx.) - "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon
Birth - "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye
Sixteenth birthday - "Hangin' Tough" by New Kids on the Block
Highschool grad - "Romantic" by Karyn White
Day I left Ontario - "Something About the Way You Look Tonight/ Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John
Day I quit smoking - "Angel of Mine" by Monica
Day I graduated from lib tech program - "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya & Pink
First date with CM - "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige
Wedding date - "Burn" by Usher

2005-09-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

Birthday

It was my birthday last week - last Thursday in fact. I had a nice one. It was the first one that my parents were in the province for. They moved to BC last summer. It's really nice to have them here, but it is a bit of an adjustment for us. We are used to being on our own and not having to take other family into consideration for holidays or long weekends. It is different having to spend my birthday with them when it hasn't been an option since 1997 - 8 years is definitely long enough to create new habits. :-)

Friday night CM insisted that we spend the evening just the two of us. It was really nice. We had dinner at Feenie's, which is a restaurant that the two of us have wanted to go to for a while. It was funny because he picked some fabulous dished and really enjoyed the play of flavours and textures. The funny part is because he has always said that he doesn't have the tastebuds to enjoy really fine food. It just proved to me that taste, like anything else, is something you can develop. He has learned about fine ingrediants and how to mix flavours through reading and tasting good food for the last 4 years. Before we got together he rarely cooked and when he did, it involved frozen tater tots. Sorry, but to me that's not cooking - that's eating to survive. I don't think that is being snobby either. I don't mind fast food, but come on. It's really not that hard to make a pasta dish for yourself. Anyway, the point of this was that he hadn't been given the opportunity to learn about this stuff - and now that he has, he really enjoys that. That makes me happy that I have been able to share one of my loves with him.

2005-09-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Bringing it home

I found this public blog - http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_nolaview/archives/2005_08.html
It allows people to post stories, calls for help or requests for information about people, pets, homes, etc. It has really brought home the personal side of this tragedy for me. I haven't been watching the news this week, so I only knew the barest of facts of what has been happening, but the stories of these people are so real.

Anyway, I thought others might be interested -some are heartbreaking and others make you feel that there really are good people out there
____________

This is an email I sent out to some friends. I could go on and on about how horrible this tragedy is, but I think everybody is aware of that. I wish everyone well and hope most come out of this safely, but I continue to have one reoccuring thought that I feel rather guilty for. I have read so much about sea level and New Orleans and how it was a mistake to try to settle a city there, let alone such a large city. Perhaps it would be best to allow the ocean to reclaim that area. Maybe the US shouldn't try to fix the levee. Maybe this is one of those really harsh lessons about Mother Nature and the power struggle between man and nature. I know this is horrible to say when the lesson has cost us thousands of lives, but I think it might be an even bigger mistake to suggest people should go back there and establish lives again.

Anyway, this is probably a horrible thing to say, but this is the place to do it if I'm going to.
bye

2005-08-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Modern, Cool Nerd
65 % Nerd, 56% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record:A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd. Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at the very least, and "geek is chic." The Modern, Cool Nerd is intelligent, knowledgable and always the person to call in a crisis (needing computer advice/an arcane bit of trivia knowledge). They are the one you want as your lifeline in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (or the one up there, winning the million bucks)! Congratulations!

2005-08-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

Whoops, that's a WASP.

Well, apparently that bee's nest that we destroyed wasn't a nest of bees but of wasps. As CM said, "I guess upon further research by the crack team here, we weredealing with wasps. Yikes.".

I'm just very glad they are gone - and not one person (us or any guests) got stung!

So, calling everyone, our place for bbq anytime now!

2005-08-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

This would officially be the longest day I have worked in a long, long time. Left at 7:05 this morning. Just got home at 10:40.
grrr argh

I want tomorrow off. Yeah, right. Compared to the rest of the folks I work with, I'm a wuss. (and I don't feel bad about that either)

g'night

2005-08-20T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is bee's nest CM and I destroyed. Feel rather bad to do it, but I'm glad I had the strength to do it myself. Amazing architecture in a bee's nest

2005-08-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

He's a WHAT???

40 year old virgin - one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long time!! Belly-laugh-for-2-hours funny... guy-next-to-you-giggles-and-snorts-(loudly)-and-you-don't-mind funny!

Everyone must see this movie!!!

'kay. Bed now.

2005-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Bees

Tonight CompuMonkey (my husband and henceforth known as CM) and I did the final kill on the bee hive that is on our patio. Although I am not a fan of killing or destruction, it was nice to finally feel safe going out on our patio.

About a month ago we noticed that bees were flying out of a hole from under an old, large planter box in a corner of our patio. We noticed it the day after we were in an accident, so we were more concerned with our health and our totalled car (thank dog we are fine physically - car not so much).

Up until about a week and half ago we left the hive alone and in that time it really grew. By the time we had the bandwidth to deal with the problem, the hole from under the planter was the bee equivelent of the 401. We hummed and hawed about what we were going to do - we are both wusses when it comes to being stung by insects. We called pest control services and bee collection groups. It was going to cost about $250 to collect the bees, which sounds very humane, but apparently they die anyway because of the shock from being moved. And living BC that was the only option to us as we were told it is illegal to kill certain types of bees in BC.

To make a long story short, we made our second assault tonight with a second can of pesticide and I think they are almost all dead. At least their hive is now exposed too, so those who are still alive will likely move on. I have to admit that looking close up at the hive is pretty cool. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to take a picture and post it.

Sorry bees, but I am not so tolerant of bugs that will harm me. Besides my tree that is right beside your former home is dying - and that is supposed to be our Christmas tree this year.

2005-08-17T16:37:00.000-07:00

Something to add to my birthday list...
The professor, the banker and the suicide king : inside the richest poker game of all time / by Michael Craig.

Looks like a great suggestion by Wil Wheaton (one of my favourite blogs). http://www.wilwheaton.net

2005-08-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Finding my legs II

Well, I had thought I would keep this quiet for a little while until I figured out if this is something I can actually fit into my life. But that's not going to happen - my husband found the link in my email account today. He offered not to read it - I guess thinking that I needed this space as a private-thinking-place. It's not that at all. I just wanted to "find my legs" before I knew anyone else is reading it (other then the people who may stumble across it on the net-although I still don't think anyone will find it unless I point them to it).

Other thoughts... I'm tired. Not having such a great day. Too much work and not enough sleep. Too much work and not enough me.

Oh well, enough of that. Going out for dinner with two people I have no use for tonight. I know that sounds cold, but every time we get together for dinner with them I go though a period of "why are we seeing these people AGAIN?". Neither of us likes them or finds them interesting. My husband (who I need to think of a pseudonym for) has wanted to stay in touch with them because he is good friends with one of the fellow's good friends. Which sounds noble, except that he rarely talks to the friend they have in common - and the friend they have in common doesn't seem to have much use for the fellow we are going out with tonight. Now keep in mind, I am an outsider looking in - they all met and were friends long before I was in the picture. I am just not good at spending time with people with whom I don't like. I got into the habit when I finished highschool of refusing to spend time with people I don't like. Maybe it is cold-hearted of me but I would prefer to spend time with people I find interesting and whom I truly enjoy spending time with. As it is, I only get to see/talk to my best girlfriend every week or week and a half.

I guess I ultimately chalk it down to the fact that I have an incredibly kindhearted husband, which is something I wouldn't change for the world. Good thing I realize that, even though I sound like a big grump today, hmmm?